The present invention is directed to a method as well as to an apparatus for the intensive cleaning of medical devices or instruments, particularly dental instruments, as well as potentially other articles falling within this area of use.
In the medical field, particularly dental field, the instruments utilized therein must be subjected to an intensive cleaning after a patient treatment. In the dental field, these instruments include spray handpieces, drilling and grinding instruments, which may be angle pieces and turbine handpieces, as well as various other hand instruments. Over and above this, other articles, such as dental bridges, dental braces, dentures or the like must be subjected to such an intensive cleaning, which is especially true in the laboratory area.
German Offenlegungsschrift 30 18 872 discloses a method for cleaning articles, particularly medical apparatus, wherein the cleaning fluid is intermittently sprayed onto the articles so that there is a pause between the spray events which are so long that the film of cleaning fluid formed on the articles has departed before another spray event occurs. The spraying of the cleaning fluid in the known method occurs with compressed air. The apparatus working according to this method is constructed in the fashion of a dishwasher, i.e., the articles are sprayed, on the one hand, from above via a pivot arm occupied with spraying nozzles and, on the other hand, from below via what is referred to as a long nozzle that extends into the interior of the articles to be cleaned.
German Offenlegungsschrift 39 16 446 discloses, for general cleaning purposes, particularly for cleaning rocks, buildings or the like, the concept of continually and/or periodically adding air in controllable fashion to a jet of pressurized water on the basis of an injector effect. To this end, a mixing chamber having various air entry openings via which air is drawn in precedes the pressurized water nozzle at the pressurized water exit.